“The middle class in the United States pays higher effective tax rates than the wealthy as of April 2026.”

Data from recent years shows effective federal income tax rates averaging around 10-15% for middle-income AGI groups ($50,000-$200,000) and declining to under 20% for top AGI groups ($10 million+), after accounting for deductions, credits, and preferential rates on capital gains.

Total effective tax rates for the 400 wealthiest Americans have declined sharply in recent years, and they now pay a smaller percentage of their true income in taxes than the average American, according to new economic research from UC Berkeley. For that highest cadre of the economic elite — the top 0.0002% — the effective tax rate fell from 30% in 2010–2017 to 23.8% in 2018–2020, says the new research. “When taking a comprehensive view of taxation and income, ultra-high-net-worth individuals appear less taxed than the average American,” they concluded.

In America today, billionaires now pay a lower effective tax rate than the average worker. Elon Musk paid an effective tax rate of less than 3.3%, while the average truck driver paid 8.4%. Jeff Bezos, now worth $223bn, paid an effective tax rate of less than 1%, while the average firefighter paid 8.7%.

A ProPublica investigation reveals that the ultrawealthy pay minimal effective tax rates, often less than 1% on their true income, through strategies like borrowing against assets rather than selling them, resulting in effective rates far below those of middle-class wage earners.

A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the Forbes 400 richest Americans paid an average effective tax rate of 24% between 2018 and 2020, while the average American taxpayer paid 30%. This research comes as President Trump's so-called Big Beautiful bill was signed into law last month delivering large benefits to the highest earning Americans through new and extended tax breaks.

A new Treasury study provides data showing that the rich not only pay more than the middle class, they pay more than one-third of their annual income in federal taxes and more than 45 percent when state and local taxes are included. However, for the top 0.0002 percent of wealthy tax units, federal income and payroll taxes amount to 21 percent of their AGI, which is a lower effective tax rate than the average of all tax units.

The United States has the most progressive tax system in the developed world, driven primarily by high federal income tax rates and large exemptions for lower-income taxpayers. At the federal level, the top 10 percent of income earners pay more than 60 percent of all taxes and 72 percent of income taxes, shares that have been increasing over time. Estimates from the US Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis show that average federal tax rates rise with income, accounting for income, payroll, corporate, and other taxes, with the top 0.1 percent paying the highest average tax rate of 33.4 percent.

All income groups pay taxes, but overall the U.S. federal tax system is progressive. Effective Federal Tax Rate (% of Expanded Cash Income in 2022) shows that the middle quintile had an effective federal tax rate of 14.2% (sum of individual income, payroll, corporate income, and excise taxes), while the top quintile had 25.3%, and the top 0.1% had 30.6%.

New Internal Revenue Service data for tax year 2022 shows the US federal income tax system continues to be progressive as high-income taxpayers pay the highest average income tax rates. The top 1 percent of taxpayers (AGI of $663,164 and above) paid the highest average income tax rate of 26.1 percent—seven times the rate faced by the bottom half of taxpayers, who faced an average income tax rate of 3.7 percent.

Economist Gabriel Zucman described how he perceives the U.S. tax system -- as a giant flat tax where each segment of the population - except for the wealthiest Americans -- commits around 25 to 30% of its income in taxes. The wealthiest Americans pay a lesser rate of 23%, which means that the tax system becomes regressive at the top.

According to government forecasters at the Joint Committee on Taxation, in 2024, million-dollar earners will pay an average federal income tax rate that is 3.5 times higher than the other 99.4% of Americans. These million-dollar earners will pay 39% of all federal income taxes while earning about 15% of the nation's income.

Considering combined federal, state, and local taxes, effective rates peak in the middle class at about 28% and decline slightly for the top 1% to 26%, supporting claims of higher middle-class burden.

Those at the very top of the income distribution experience a wide range of tax rates, with 80 percent of filers paying between 16% and 37%. For middle-income families, this range is narrower (about 5% to 13%). The analysis shows that eliminating tax provisions contributing to gaps between statutory and effective rates would raise $560 billion in 2026.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data on Personal Taxes: Federal Income Taxes by Quintiles of Income Before Taxes, with the latest retrieval date of February 19, 2026, for data up to 2025.

The federal income tax rates remain unchanged for both the 2025 and 2026 tax years at 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%. The income thresholds for each bracket and filing status are adjusted slightly every year for inflation.

In 2026, the federal income tax has seven tax rates: 10 percent, 12 percent, 22 percent, 24 percent, 32 percent, 35 percent, and 37 percent. The top marginal income tax rate of 37 percent will hit taxpayers with taxable income above $640,600 for single filers and above $768,600 for married couples filing jointly.

Middle-income Americans pay a larger share of their income in total taxes than previously thought; effective rates for $50k-$100k households exceed those of top earners when state and local taxes are included.

For a single individual with a taxable income of $65,000 in 2026, the total federal income tax due would be $9,012, resulting in an effective tax rate of 13.9%.

Newly published data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicates that in 2019, the federal tax system was progressive, applying higher effective tax rates at higher income levels. The effective federal tax rate rose from 0.5 percent for the bottom quintile to 30 percent for the top 1 percent of earners.

IRS data consistently shows progressive effective federal income tax rates, with middle class (AGI $40k-$200k) at 8-15% and top 1% at 23-27%; however, including payroll, state, and local taxes, overall rates are less progressive, around 25-30% for middle vs. 28-33% for top 1%.